Viewpoint: America on trial with Trump
David James
What would Lincoln have done if Confederate President Jefferson Davis wanted to be President in 1864? Americans and our judicial system are at a pivotal point in our country’s history. Are we a country where the Constitution, the rule of law, is a standard principle? Do we have the wisdom needed to govern today?
Many citizens have taken notice of Section 3, Amendment 14. Which helps define a qualification for presidential office. Section 3 reminds Americans what is normal and how we should react decisively. When facing an oath-breaking insurrection, our Constitution has survived because it articulates a strategy on how to respond. Presidential induction requires taking the oath to obey the Constitution and our roadmap of governing.
Though many Americans are unaware of the language of the 14th Amendment, the Constitution regulates who may run for president. The candidate must be 35 years old, born in the United States or to American parents, lived in the United States for fourteen years before the election, not already served two terms as president, and the least demanding is required to support the Constitution after taking a loyalty oath.
Donald Trump violated his oath of office on January 6th, 2021. On this traumatic day, a larger pattern of activities revealed themselves and continues to this day. When he lost in 2020, he tried to manipulate the vote-counting, establish fake electors, and encouraged Republican Congressional members and followers to prevent the transition of authority. Trump knowingly lied about the 2020 election, then created the conditions for insurrection, which caused MAGA followers to threaten judges, prosecutors, election workers, and party members while spreading fear of retribution.
Recent history says if Trump is the nominee and loses, he will try another insurrection. If Trump runs and wins, he promises to round up all his enemies. As President, he’ll have the power to dismiss all 91 federal charges against him if not settled before the election, unless the US Supreme Court steps in.
These charges include 37 felonies in connection with removal of classified top secret documents, and stored at his home in Mar-a-Lago. He interfered by organizing fake electors and a Capitol riot that resulted. It will go away. The Fulton County, Georgia election and 18 others involving election interference and fraud cases may also be in jeopardy.
The Supreme Court is also on trial. Their recent decision has left the door open for another Jefferson Davis to become President. Will that person be Donald Trump? The challenge for Americans at this pivotal point in history is what would Lincoln do? And what will voters do? History teaches us that if voters cannot stop an insurrectionist at the polls, the opportunity may never happen again.